Editing EC Comics (section)

=== 1950–1955: Rebranded as Entertaining Comics, introduction to "New Trend" ===
When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son [[William Gaines|William]] inherited the comics company. After four years (1942–1946) in the [[United States Army Air Corps|Army Air Corps]], Gaines had returned home to finish school at [[New York University]], planning to work as a chemistry teacher. He never taught but instead took over the family business. In 1949 and 1950, Bill Gaines began a line of new titles featuring [[horror fiction|horror]], [[suspense]], [[science fiction]], [[war novel|military fiction]] and [[crime fiction]]. His editors, [[Al Feldstein]] and [[Harvey Kurtzman]], who also drew covers and stories, gave assignments to such prominent and highly accomplished freelance artists as [[Johnny Craig]], [[Reed Crandall]], [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]], [[Will Elder]], [[George Evans (comics)|George Evans]], [[Frank Frazetta]], [[Graham Ingels]], [[Jack Kamen]], [[Bernard Krigstein]], [[Joe Orlando]], [[John Severin]], [[Al Williamson]], [[Basil Wolverton]], and [[Wally Wood]]. With input from Gaines, the stories were written by Kurtzman, Feldstein, and Craig. Other writers, including [[Carl Wessler]], [[Jack Oleck]], and [[Otto Binder]], were later brought on board.

EC succeeded with its fresh approach and pioneered forming relationships with its readers through its letters to the editor and fan organization, the National EC Fan-Addict Club. EC Comics promoted its stable of illustrators, allowing each to sign his art and encouraging them to develop distinctive styles; the company published one-page biographies of them in comic books. This was in contrast to the industry's common practice, in which credits were often missing, although some artists at other companies, such as the [[Jack Kirby]]&nbsp;– [[Joe Simon]] team, [[Jack Cole (artist)|Jack Cole]] and [[Bob Kane]] had been prominently promoted.

EC published distinct lines of titles under its Entertaining Comics umbrella. Most notorious were its horror books, ''[[Tales from the Crypt (comics)|Tales from the Crypt]]'', ''[[The Vault of Horror (comics)|The Vault of Horror]]'', and ''[[The Haunt of Fear]]''. These titles reveled in a gruesome ''joie de vivre'', with grimly ironic fates meted out to many of the stories' protagonists. The company's war comics, ''[[Frontline Combat]]'' and ''[[Two-Fisted Tales]]'', often featured weary-eyed, unheroic stories out of step with the jingoistic times. ''[[Shock SuspenStories]]'' tackled weighty political and social issues such as [[racism]], [[sex]], [[recreational drugs|drug use]], and the American way of life. EC always claimed to be "proudest of our science fiction titles", with ''[[Weird Science (comic)|Weird Science]]'' and ''[[Weird Fantasy]]'' publishing stories unlike the [[space opera]] found in such titles as [[Fiction House]]'s ''[[Planet Comics]]''. ''[[Crime SuspenStories]]'' had many parallels with ''[[film noir]]''. As noted by [[Max Allan Collins]] in his story annotations for [[Russ Cochran (publisher)|Russ Cochran]]'s 1983 hardcover reprint of ''Crime SuspenStories'', Johnny Craig had developed a "''film noir''-ish bag of effects" in his visuals,{{page needed|date=July 2019}} while characters and themes found in the crime stories often showed the strong influence of writers associated with ''film noir'', notably [[James M. Cain]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} Craig excelled in drawing stories of domestic scheming and conflict, leading [[David Hajdu]] to observe:
{{blockquote|text=To young people of the postwar years, when the mainstream culture glorified suburban domesticity as the modern American ideal – the life that made the [[Cold War]] worth fighting – nothing else in the panels of EC comics, not the giant alien cockroach that ate earthlings, not the baseball game played with human body parts, was so subversive as the idea that the exits of the [[Long Island Expressway]] emptied onto levels of Hell.{{sfn|Hajdu|2008|p=180}} }}

Superior illustrations of stories with surprise endings became EC's trademark. Gaines would generally stay up late and read large amounts of material while seeking "springboards" for story concepts. The next day he would present each premise until Feldstein found one that he thought he could develop into a story.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=30–32}} At EC's peak, Feldstein edited seven titles while Kurtzman handled three. Artists were assigned stories specific to their styles; for example, Davis and Ingels often drew gruesome, supernatural-themed stories, while Kamen and Evans did tamer material.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|pp=48–49}}

With hundreds of stories written, common themes surfaced. Some of EC's more well-known themes include:
* An ordinary situation given an ironic and gruesome twist, often as [[poetic justice]] for a character's crimes. In "Collection Completed", a man takes up [[taxidermy]] to annoy his wife. When he kills and stuffs her beloved cat, the wife snaps and kills him, stuffing and mounting his body. In "Revulsion", a spaceship pilot is bothered by insects due to an experience when he found one in his food. After the story, a giant [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture|alien]] insect screams in horror at finding the dead pilot in his salad. [[Dissection]], the boiling of [[lobsters]], [[Mexican jumping beans]], [[fur coats]], and [[fishing]] are just a small sample of the kind of situations and objects used in this fashion.
* The "Grim Fairy Tale", featuring gruesome interpretations of such [[fairy tales]] as "[[Hansel and Gretel]]", "[[Sleeping Beauty]]", and "[[Little Red Riding Hood]]".{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=51}}
* [[Conjoined twins|Siamese twins]] were a popular theme, primarily in EC's three horror comics. No fewer than nine Siamese twin stories appeared in EC's horror and crime comics from 1950 to 1954. In an interview, Feldstein speculated that he and Gaines wrote so many Siamese twin stories because of the interdependence they had on each other.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=50}}
* Adaptations of [[Ray Bradbury]] science-fiction stories appeared in two dozen EC comics starting in 1952. It began inauspiciously, with an incident in which Feldstein and Gaines [[plagiarized]]<!--if they did it without Bradbury's permission, it was plagiarism--> two of Bradbury's stories and combined them into a single tale. Learning of the story, Bradbury sent a note praising them, while remarking that he had "inadvertently" not yet received his payment for their use. EC sent a check and negotiated a productive series of Bradbury adaptations.{{sfn|Gaines|Feldstein|1980}}
* Stories with a political message, which became common in EC's science fiction and suspense comics. Among the many topics were [[lynching]], [[antisemitism]], and [[police corruption]].{{sfn|Diehl|1996|pp=37, 40}}

The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of [[horror hosts]]: [[The Crypt Keeper]] introduced ''Tales from the Crypt''; [[The Vault-Keeper]] welcomed readers to ''The Vault of Horror''; and the [[Old Witch]] cackled over ''The Haunt of Fear''. Besides gleefully recounting the unpleasant details of the stories, the characters squabbled with one another, unleashed an arsenal of puns, and even insulted and taunted the readers: "Greetings, boils and ghouls..." This irreverent mockery of the audience also became the trademark attitude of ''Mad'', and such glib give-and-take was later mimicked by many, including [[Stan Lee]] at [[Marvel Comics]].{{fact|date=July 2022}}

EC's most enduring legacy came with ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'', which started as a side project for Kurtzman before buoying the company's fortunes and becoming one of the country's most notable and long-running humor publications. When satire became an industry rage in 1954, and other publishers created imitations of ''Mad'', EC introduced a sister title, ''[[Panic (comic)|Panic]]'', edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular ''Mad'' artists plus [[Joe Orlando]].{{fact|date=July 2022}}